Skip to main content

If You Like...Back to School Intermediates

By
With mixed emotions and fresh pencils, summer has ended and school has begun. Here are a few short, illustrated chapter books that take you there - some realistic, some fantastical, but all sensitive to this real transition children make. See Bibsy Cross and Still Sal for a couple more excellent back-to-school Intermediates!

Written by Elise Broach
Illustrated by Kelly Murphy
New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2025. Intermediate. 110 pages. 

Bulldozer, a gentle construction vehicle living in a world of humans, is nervous about starting school. His story is full of understated conflicts: He wants to be true to himself, but he also wants to fit in, he has doubts and fears, but he also has moments of success and delight. It's sweet, funny, and true. I love the greyscale and soft orange illustrations throughout.

Written by Barbara Park
Illustrated by Denise Brunkus
New York: Random House, 1992. Intermediate. 69 pages.

These books were published when I was a little kid. I remember teachers and parents having strong feelings about the series, because Junie B. Jones is a total rascal. But as an adult with my own young children, I find such refreshing reality to Junie's distinctive voice and outrageous personality. Not only is Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus genuinely hilarious, but it also shows how a child's behavior is impacted by their feelings, especially when confronted with new experiences.

Written by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams
Illustrated by Toby Allen
New York: Aladdin Quix, Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2024. Intermediate. 86 pages. 

Pegasus is excited to attend the School for Magical Monsters, where he will be surrounded by other Creatures finding their special powers. But his mistakes, missteps, and run-ins make him wonder if he will ever belong. Rise of Pegasus is a fun Intermediate for newly independent readers who are interested in magic and mythology. It's snappy and full of onomatopoeia with illustrations every few pages. 

Written by Keka Novales
Illustrated by Gloria Félix
North Mankato, MN: Picture Window Books, a Capstone imprint, 2023. Intermediate. 57 pages.

Lola has been accepted to The Academy. Her family is thrilled about the opportunity, but Lola feels worried. She will be changing schools in the middle of the year! Her beloved Abuelita comes from Guatemala to support her with gifts, treats, advice and encouragement. With Abuelita's help, Lola develops self-confidence in the face of a large change, makes new friends, and conquers her anxiety. Lola and the New School is really sweet realistic fiction.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review: A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

By
A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall By Jasmine Warga New York: Harper, 2024. Fiction. 211 pages. A painting has been stolen from the Penelope L. Brooks Museum and sixth-grader Rami Ahmed is worried he's the main suspect. His mother works at the museum as the lead custodian and Rami spends a lot of time hanging out at the museum while she works. On the day the painting went missing, the only people there were the security guard Ed, the cleaning crew, and Rami. Then, a mysterious girl appears in the museum. She floats around from room to room and only Rami can see her -- and she looks exactly like the girl from the missing painting. To prove his innocence and help figure out who the floating girl is, Rami partners up with an aspiring sleuth at school named Veda and the two dive into unexpected situations as they try to solve the mystery. This is a cozy mystery that is focused mostly on characters and ambiance and only a little on the mystery itself. Don't read this book if yo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Factory

By
The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Amazing Generation

By
The Amazing Generation: Your Guide to Fun and Freedom in a Screen-Filled World Written by Jonathan Haidt and Catherine Price  Illustrated by Cynthia Yuan Cheng New York: Rocky Pond Books, 2025. Informational. 226 pages.  In a kid-friendly adaptation of his best-selling book, The Anxious Generation , Jonathan Haidt teams up with Catherine Price, author of How to Break Up With Your Phone , to bring the power of good information directly to the hands of those that this issue affects most directly — kids on the cusp of getting their own smartphones. The book presents information about the drawbacks of having a smartphone and social media too soon in clear and easy-to-understand language, with eye-catching graphics and pop-outs. Throughout the book, quotes from real teens and young adults, called screen "rebels" by the authors, emphasize the points the authors are trying to make. Fictional characters are featured throughout in a graphic novel story, which further emphasizes the po...
Post a Comment
Read more